PONTIANAK, KOMPAS.com - Indonesia has received two warships, "KRI Salawaku 642" and "KRI Badau 643" from Brunei Darussalam under a grant, which will join the West Fleet Command (ARMABAR). Brunei government officially handed over the two warships on April 15, 2011, (Navy) Maj Komaruddin, the commander of KRI Badau said here on Monday. Both ships were originally called "KDB (Kapal Perang Diraja Brunei) Waspada" and "KDB Pejuang" as part of the Royal Brunei Navy fleet, he said. In accordance with Decree of the Defense Forces (Military)Commander, "KDB Waspada" is now called "KRI Salawaku" with hull number 642 and "KDB Pejuang" is now "KRI Badau" with hull number 643. "The two ships are part of the rapid ship missile (KCR)," Maj Komaruddin said, adding that the ships were designed in England and constructed in its plant in Singapore each with a cruising capacity of 28 knots. The two warships can be operated for the next 10 to 15 years, and each with a crew of 37, consisting of 7 officers and 30 men, Maj Komaruddin added.

The Indonesian Navy has successfully tested a Russian-made anti-ship missile for the first time, the Antara national news agency reported on Thursday.The Yakhont anti-ship missile was launched on Wednesday from the Van Speijk class frigate, Oswald Siahaan, during naval exercises in the Indian Ocean. Russian observers oversaw the drills, which involved 12 ships and over 1,000 personnel.It took six minutes for the missile to cover 250 kilometers and destroy a designated target."The target ship was hit [by the missile] and sank," Navy spokesman Rear Admiral Iskandar Sitompul said. "We bought these missiles a long time ago, and have finally tested them."Indonesia bought an undisclosed number of Russian SS-N-26 Yakhont supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles for $1.2-million apiece in 2007 to replace Harpoon missiles on its frigates.The missile has a maximum range of 300 kilometers when cruising at high altitude. It flies at low level during the terminal phase, and between 5 and 15 meters in altitude.MOSCOW, April 21 (RIA Novosti)

Indonesian Defence Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro has launched the indigenously built warship, the KRI Clurit, at Batu Ampar cargo port, Batam, Riau Islands province, Indonesia.The 40m-long KRI Clurit is a swift missile-carrying ship designed and built by PT Palindo Marine to help secure the country's waters in the western region, according to Antara News."With it, Indonesia has started to have the capability to safeguard its seas with self-made ships. We no longer need handouts," Yusgiantoro added.The minister said that an indigenous submarine and a destroyer would also be added to the Indonesian Navy's fleet.National Defence Forces (TNI) commander admiral Agus Suhartono said the navy had ordered two KCR-40 missile boats that would operate in Indonesia's western waters.

Thursday, April 21, 2011, Indonesian Navy successfully test firing a Yakhont Missile purchased from Russia in the Indonesian Ocean. The missile, which has a speed of 2 Mach (or the equivalent of twice the speed of sound), with a maximum range of 300 km and 300 kg explosive power successfully sunk a decomissioned LST KRI Teluk Bayur-502 at a distance of 250 km.

The Indonesian military (TNI) has deployed one flight of F-16 Fighting Falcon jet aircraft from Iswahjudi Airbase Air Squadron 3 in Malang, East Java, to support security measures at the 18th ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, scheduled to take place from May 4 to 8.The jets arrived at the Halim Perdanakusumah airport on Tuesday, Antara reported. The flight was led by the air squadron 3 commander Lt. Col. Ian Fuady. The flight will take turn to assign some jets to patrol over Greater Jakarta during the conference. TNI's chief of staff Lt. Gen. Suryo Prabowo, who is also in charge as coordinator for security of the conference, said that the military also stand by combat jets and helicopters supported with radar equipment to detect possible threats to the security during the conference.

Indonesia wants to exchange its medium transport CN-235 airplanes with South Korean T-50 Golden Eagle jet trainers in an attempt to promote local products overseas and boost cooperation between the two countries, top officials say.

Indonesian-made CN-235s have been sold to several countries in the world, including South Korea, as “military and surveillance vehicles”, said Amir Sambodo, special staff for the Coordinating Economic Minister.“There have been talks that if Indonesia buys T-50s, there will be compensation for Korea to purchase CN-235s,” Amir told reporters at the Indonesia-South Korea bilateral meeting at the Westin Resort in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Thursday.Indonesia, he added, may have the potential to sell two or four more CN-235 planes to South Korea. “This needs to be increased to mutually benefit both countries. If South Korea is good at trainer jets, we are strong in transport aircraft, so this is win-win cooperation.”The CN-235, introduced in 1988, is a medium-range twin-engine transport plane that was jointly developed by CASA of Spain and the Indonesian state aircraft maker, then PT Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara (IPTN) and currently known as PT Dirgantara Indonesia (DI).The aircraft’s primary military roles include maritime patrol, surveillance and air transport, with the largest user being Turkey, which has 61 aircraft, followed by South Korea as well as Spain and Indonesia.The T-50, the first supersonic aircraft made by South Korea and one of the world’s few supersonic trainers, is an advanced trainer and multirole light fighter developed by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) beginning in the late 1990s. Amir’s statements came after Indonesia’s Coordinating Economic Minister, Hatta Rajasa, said in his opening remarks at the bilateral meeting that he expected Seoul to procure more CN-235 planes.“I have been informed by my colleague that Korea uses Indonesia’s CN-235 aircraft and I hope to see more of our aircraft flying over Korean skies in the years to come,” he said, adding that South Korea “has expressed interest in adding more CN-235 planes”.The Republic of Korea’s Air Force (ROKAF) has purchased 20 CN-235 aircraft, 12 of which were built by CASA in Spain and the remaining eight by Dirgantara Indonesia. In addition to transport airplanes, ROKAF also uses CN-235s as VVIP aircraft for the country’s leaders.The plane is also used by countries throughout the world, including, among others, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, France, Ireland, Malaysia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.“Our planes are better than CASA’s, so the Koreans are eager to use the Indonesian planes. In my opening remarks, I sent a signal for Korea to deploy more CN-235 planes,” Hatta said when asked by reporters after the bilateral meeting.PT DI is currently working on four CN-235-110 MPAs for the South Korean Coast Guard in a contract worth US$96 million.

On April 12, Indonesia selected KAI as the preferred bidder for its trainer jet program over Russian’s Yakovlev Yak-130 and the Czech Republic’s Aero Vodochody L-159, the two other finalists in the competition.

Italy’s M-346, which defeated the T-50 in trainer jet acquisition deals in the United Arab Emirates in 2009 and Singapore in 2010, was disqualified from the competition in the first round of assessments in May last year.

The export of the T-50 was briefly thrown into question when Korean intelligence officials allegedly broke into the hotel room of a visiting Indonesian delegation in Seoul on Feb. 16.

Observers say that the deal will have positive effects on the country's efforts to export the aircraft to other nations, including Israel, the United States, Poland, India and the United Arab Emirates.

They say the strategic importance and close bilateral ties between Korea and Indonesia played a role in the decision-making process.

Indonesia and Korea are working together to jointly develop a new fighter.

Embraer’s sale of eight Super Tucano light attack and advanced training turboprops to the Indonesian Air Force is now in effect. The Company was declared the winner of a bidding competition held by the Indonesian Ministry of Defense, in November 2010. Since then, several administrative phases have been completed, culminating in the finished contract, which includes ground support stations and an integrated logistics package. Deliveries begin in 2012.

“This contract represents a bold step for the Super Tucano footprint in the World,” said Orlando José Ferreira Neto, Commercial Senior Vice President Embraer Defense and Security. “We welcome the Indonesian Air Force as the newest operator of an Embraer Defense and Security product, and they will be served and satisfied with the same excellence, quality and efficiency that extended to all customers.”

The Indonesian government chose the flexible Super Tucano to substitute other aircraft and to perform a broad range of missions, including light attack, surveillance, air-to-air interception, and counter insurgence. This is a mature and proven aircraft that has flown more than 120,000 hours with outstanding efficiency and reliability.

The super Tucano is equipped with the most recent electronic/optical/infrared and laser technology, secure radios with datalink communications, and unmatched weaponry, making it a highly dependable and cost-effective aircraft for a broad range of military missions, even from unpaved runways.

The Air Force announced on Sunday that it would add five more C-130 Hercules transports to its fleet over the next two years.

Admiral Imam Sufaat, the Air Force chief of staff, said the new additions would be among the nine such aircraft to be procured over the next few years.

“Once we get the nine C-130s, the Air Force will have 30 units of this plane,” he said.

The fleet will consist of two C-130s used as refueling planes, two outfitted to carry VIPs and 26 to transport troops.

Air Force spokesman First Adm. Bambang Samoedro said the service could be getting the planes from several countries by 2014.

“The countries that have offered us the planes are the United States, Norway and Australia,” he said.

“We are currently in the process of looking at the whether to get them through a grant or a soft loan, because this is strongly related to the country’s budget.”

The United States offered a fleet of six C-130Es for delivery in 2012 at a special discount. The planes were initially offered to other Asian and African governments but the orders never came to fruition.

The Norwegian government also offered to sell four used C-130Hs to Indonesia at a cost of $66 million. Under the terms of the deal, the Norwegian government would recondition the planes at its own cost before selling them to Indonesia.

A third bid came from Australia, which offered a fleet of six C-130Js for immediate delivery.

Imam said that in addition to purchasing the transports, the Air Force was also waiting for the United States to approve the sale of 24 used F-16C/D fighter jets to the Indonesian Armed Forces.

The F-16s had been offered as a grant, but the deal must be approved by US lawmakers.

“We hope we can get the approval from the Congress soon so that so we can sign the contract within this year,” Imam said.

He added that if the agreement could be finalized before the end of the year, Indonesia would get the first eight fighters in 2012 to help boost the nation’s squadrons .

The Indonesian Air Force will receive the first four Super Tucano aircraft in March next year, air force spokesman First Marshall Bambang Samoedro has said."These four Tucanoes will be placed at the Abdulrahman Saleh Air Force base in Malang, East Java. We could use this aircraft to go to places that are almost unreachable by others," he added.The aircraft purchase is part of plans for a squadron of 16 Super Tucano warplanes to replace the OV-10 Bronco aircraft.The Jakarta Post has also reported Indonesian Air Force Colonel Chandra Siahaan as saying that the turboprop-driven aircraft were crucial to safeguarding the whole region.Currently, the service is equipped with the Sukhoi squadron, US-built F-16 Falcon fighter jets and F-5 Tiger bombers squadron, two squadrons of UK-made training Sky-Hawks and Hawk bombing jets.

The Indonesian ships KRI Diponegoro (365) (left) and KRI Slamet Riyadi (352) steam in formation with the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) while transiting from the Java sea to the Indian Ocean through the Sunda Strait.

The Indonesian ship KRI Slamet Riyadi (352) steams through the Java Sea while transiting from the Java sea to the Indian ocean through the Sunda Strait with the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73).

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) navigates the Sunda Strait while being escorted by Indonesian naval vessels. George Washington crossed through the Java Sea into the Indian Ocean.

Indonesia and South Korea are getting ready to sign an MoU on the joint-development of a KFX fighter jet program (dubbed Boramae) later this year, following a letter of intent in March 2009 on Indonesian participation in a KFX study. When enacted, the MOU will provide a breakthrough for both countries in terms of bilateral defense collaboration and aircraft technology indigenization.

The defense community and members of parliament believe that the cooperation will help the revitalization of the Indonesian defense industry. MPs urged the government to conduct a feasibility test before embarking on a US$2 billion venture that spans across an eight-year period. It is expected from the collaboration that five prototypes will be built before 2020.

Approximately 200+ aircraft will be manufactured for both the Indonesian and Korean Air Force. Surely there is a sense of pride creeping into every Indonesian’s minds knowing that the biggest Muslim country in the world is going to carry on an indigenize a fighter jet program, debunking the myth that only technologically advanced countries can achieve this.

Indeed, the cooperation will not only allow Indonesia to access the so-called 4.5th generation fighter jet technology, but also help South Korea preserve the bloodline for an indigenous fighter jet program since they can only afford 60 percent of the necessitate fund.

But before we indulge in a techno-nationalism fantasy, several imminent issues need to be pondered. Sarcastic remarks as to why Indonesia uses a jet fighter project as sustenance for the aerospace industry when the capacity of the Indonesian Aerospace is still limited to transport aircraft and helicopter, will inevitably raise.

Therefore, it is important to answer basic questions such as what the “indigenize fighter jet program” means in reality and how this will help revitalize the defense industry. There is also an urgency to shed some light upon the KFX program and whether it fits into the Indonesian strategic and defense-industrial interests.

The first issue is the technical and fiscal feasibility of the KFX project. The controversial project was initiated in 2001, with an estimated cost of $13 billion for the production of 120 aircraft, and has not progressed from a feasibility study since. It is acknowledged that South Korea is lacking both in technical and fiscal abilities to kick start the program, with the Korean Aerospace Industry (KAI) as a prime contractor possessing only 63 percent of technological capability needed.

Established through a merger of three companies in 1999, KAI has a modest experience of developing the indigenous KT-1 Wong Bee trainer, license-producing F-16K and joint-developing T-50 advanced trainer as well as making parts for F-15 (forward fuselage and wings).

It does not have an extensive track record as it exports only the KT-1 trainer to Indonesia and Turkey, and is still unable to sell a single T-50 advanced trainer jet despite having been shortlisted for procurement in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Israel, Greece, Singapore and the US.

The second issue is the “sovereignty” of technology contained in the KFX and sustainability of in-service operation, since the KFX will be using subsystems such as engine and avionics from third countries that might present political complication for Indonesia. The KFX will be developed from T-50 Golden Eagle, a supersonic advance jet trainer jointly developed by KAI and the US Lockheed Martin, with the latter provided the avionics system, flight control and wings. In addition to the US, it is possible that Israel also contributes through an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar that will be built domestically in South Korea.

With the Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) statement about the necessity to bring in international partner from big players such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, EADS and Saab to help develop the KFX, obviously there will be further third country subsystems fitted into the KFX platform, which bring more complexities of supply in the future. Nevertheless, there is benefit, as Indonesia might be able to absorb world class knowledge through cooperation with those big aerospace companies and establish a position in the global supply chain.

The third issue is risk associated with developing new technology; among them are cost overruns, under performance and delay. Under the MOU, Indonesia will bear 20 percent of the initial budget worth $8 billion, but the real cost can easily stretch out along the process. The risks of cost overruns and delay have taken place in similar collaborations such as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) and the Eurofighter.

The JSF cost overrun is almost double its initial estimated price within 10 years of project (2001-2010), whereas the Eurofighter experienced cost overrun and “eternal delay” so bad that the participating countries decided to cut down the amount of aircraft order. Indonesia needs to be clear on how flexible they can be in terms of accepting risks incurred from participation in the project and whether the risk will be worthy of being paid off.

The fourth issue is whether the KFX project will really help revitalize the Indonesian defense industry, through job creation, transfer of technology and creation of local supply chains. Jakarta needs to be articulate in the clearest way possible about the expectation of the economic benefits possibly derived from the project.

It is not clear yet as to which model of work share is to be employed, whether it is juste retour (just return) or earned work shares (participation based on demonstrated competencies), or will Jakarta only access the know-how without participating in the production line (which is nearly impossible).

For the sake of comparison, the Eurofighter project helps create 30,000 jobs across Europe. However, with a cost at $45-50 million per copy, it sees limited prospect of export when facing competition from the JSF and Gripen, not to mention competing Russian and Chinese products in the non-European market.

Aviation Week estimated the break-even-point of the KFX will be reached with production of at least 200-250 aircraft, and it is only if the unit price of each copy can be pushed down to $41 million that makes it possible for export. If Indonesia were to order around 50 aircraft, it is possible to negotiate 20-25 percent of total work-share based on “juste retour” principle, and this will materialize in a significant number of jobs. Without export, however, the long-term economic benefits will likely demise once the project completes.

Experts share doubt whether the KFX can really offer the cutting-edge technology as offered by 5th Generation fighters such as the JSF and the Indo-Russian PAKFA in 2020s, which means in terms of strategic calculation, the KFX may not be the best option to fight with a more technologically advanced enemy.

Facing the 5th G fighter jet race from China, Japan, and Indo-Russia, the South Korean government has a difficult time calculating a trade-off between strategic and industrial interest, between building an indigenous fighter or buy best off-the-shelf (OTS) available on the market. Indonesia may not face a similar dilemma as there is no imminent 5th G fighter race with neighboring countries, but it does not mean that Jakarta do not need to explore another value for the money option.

Another possibility of using defense acquisition as industrial policy tool is using an offsets obligation to accompany the OTS procurement. Alternatively, $2 billion will enable Indonesia to get more than a squadron of cutting-edge OTS technology. Neither joint-development nor procuring OTS will give sovereignty of supply, but the OTS does not only give the advantage of value for money because it bypasses the development cost, but it also ensures getting the attested technology that probably would serve both defense-industrial and strategic interests better.

Indonesian soldiers and their Australian Army mentors conduct an urban operations exercise at the Townsville field training area.

Spoiler:

Thirty Indonesian officers and senior sergeants have taken part in the annual Junior Officer Combat Instructor Training (JOCIT) course in July. This is part of a greater initiative by the ADF to support peackeeping training and initiatives for Indonesian soldiers.